Midding’s debut EP Nowhere Near Today began life as demos on a four-track recorder in a kitchen, then took full form in a concrete basement studio in an abandoned shopping centre turned DIY creative space. In experimenting with cassette recording, the Cardiff five-piece welcome “natural haphazardry” and the spontaneity and creative problem-solving it prompts. Upgrading to an eight-track recorder, they set out with “the admirable if not challenging aim to recreate the symphonic sounds of Phil Spector on a DIY budget”. The result is a juddering, charming piece of psych rock and industrial pop: tremolo guitar, feedback, and the ghostly howl of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska.
Country: Wales
Label: Tough Love
middingband.bandcamp.com